Montessori School of Louisville – A Non Profit Organization
July 20, 2015 – Board of Directors Meeting Minutes --- Submitted by Katherine Kuntz
In Attendance: Katherine Kuntz, James Gregory, Amy Gruber, Nedda Johnson, Sue
Perram, Zach Spencer, Marcia Kidd
Absent: Robert Buse, Rebecca Bell, Tim Evans
James opened the meeting and read the board vision statement:
We, the Montessori School of Louisville Board of Directors, believe Montessori
education to be a progressive and evolving understanding of child development. In light of
this belief, our policies shall be:
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Guided by what is best for the child
Fiscally responsible
Environmentally conscious
Leading toward national recognition
Acknowledging responsibility for stewardship in the community
Respectful of religious diversity
Board Education
No Board Education this month.
Approval of Minutes:
 Motion to approve June minutes was presented by Sue. Seconded by Nedda. Motion
carried.
Head of School Report: Presented by Marcia Kidd
 Current enrollment is 124 student contracts:
o 12 Toddler
o 43 – Early Childhood
o 48 – Lower Elementary
o 19 – Upper Elementary
o 2 – Middle School
Mission & Vision - We ignite the child's innate love of learning in a diverse and nurturing community by integrating authentic Montessori
philosophy with contemporary research-based educational methods. We empower each individual to make knowledgeable, responsible, and
peaceful contributions to the global community.
10263 Champion Farms Drive, Louisville, KY 40241  phone 502-640-8585  fax 502-413-5699  msl-edu.org
One Magnolia parent plans for student to come, but we have not seen contract.
There are two other contracts that we expect to come back for early childhood.
One UE student chose this week to attend a different school.
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Summer camp is going well. Many camps are full. Camp Invention will be staffed and
run by Camp Invention.
Back to school mailer is in progress with Goal ready on August 5th.
After school clubs are in the process of being determined and arranged.
Updating parent handbook – changing names to Head of School and using the school’s
number.
Update of staff handbook is in progress.
Ordering of materials and supplies has begun.
Hiring –
o We have hired Eleanor Ansback – PE
o Need to find a new Piano Teacher
o Upper Elementary assistant interviews are in progress. We have two strong
candidates and one more interview.
o Half Day Person for UE has been interviewed and is being considered a
possibility for that classroom if budget allows.
Planning for
o Orientation Evening – Planning. Thinking about a possible head of school
commentary.
o Teacher Work Week – Planning.
Licensing
o Will visit tomorrow and help to update disaster plans.
Policy on toddler ages: One toddler student’s parents have approached the school
asking to start the student early at 17 months. We are re-shadowing this child. The
Board discussed and determined that our age policy is:
o The Montessori philosophy is to follow the child and therefore our age policy is
a guideline. Toddler starts at approximately 18 months based upon certain age
appropriate measures. We recommend not before 18 months. All children
attend on a 90 day trial period. If the student’s time in the classroom raises
reservations from the teachers, we must re-consider appropriateness of
arrangement.
A parent of a future toddler student has asked for parent information to have a gettogether before school starts. The Board re-iterated that we cannot give out personal
information without signed waivers which we will not have until the beginning of the
school year.
Nedda asked about the calendar and asking which days are snow days – she
suggested clarifying to the parents how many snow days we have built into the
calendar.
 James indicated that we have another family requesting a half year contract
due to potential for a job change. The Board agreed to a half-year contract.
Finance Committee Report: Katherine Kuntz presented
 14-15 YTD Actual vs. Budget – Preliminary because the end of the year may have
several more adjustments.
o 146 Students – we are above budget because we had more full time students
than we budgeted.
o Income is above budget also due to other income which was mostly from the
lunch program.
o Overall expenses are close to budget at 98%.
 Balance Sheet: Cash is in a solid position, even excluding cash from 2015-2016
payments.
 James Gregory will contact Poe regarding permission for the wall upstairs in lower
elementary.
 We discussed the budget for teacher materials. We have reduced the amount of
money we have to spend in the classroom in the budget. There was some discussion
of putting together a wish list for the teachers and giving this to parents sometime
during the year.
Strategic Planning/New Business
 Policies
o Lice Policy – The Board agreed to a no-nit and no lice policy and that children
will be sent home. Children may return to school the following day after
treatment. A discussion ensued about the CDC – we acknowledge it is not the
same as the CDC, but ours is a different environment due to pillows and rugs
and close interaction between students. This policy will be included in the
handbook with additional explanation regarding the differences from the CDC
policy.
o Immunization Policy – The Board has decided to follow the State Policy that
children may attend school if they have not been vaccinated due to a medical
or religious exemption based upon the information provided by Nedda Johnson.
In KY, once the parents have a religious exemption, you have to sign an
affidavit and have it notarized. Once this is signed – no one is allowed to ask
you “what is your religious belief that keeps you from getting an exemption?”
The pediatrician then has to sign this waiver. These waivers then have to be
sent to the State.
o The Board discussed the need for a medical policy regarding administering of
medicine including diabetics, etc. Nedda Johnson provided some information
from Section 504 regarding how to administer medications. We are going to
look into having some basic emergency diabetes training like CPR training.
Head of School Search Committee Update from James Gregory
We have an energetic and engaged committee. We had seven or eight resumes and we
interviewed three candidates. One candidate has been eliminated from the process. We
have asked one of the candidates to come to the school this week. We have her references
and her employer is aware that she is looking for other work. The other candidate is still a
possibility.
James will send a final itinerary for her visit to the board.
Meeting adjourned.